For most of Sunday afternoon, South Carolina baseball looked poised to salvage the final game of their weekend series against third-ranked Arkansas. But a disastrous eighth inning saw those hopes evaporate as the Razorbacks exploded for seven runs to complete a sweep with an 11-4 victory at Baum-Walker Stadium.
The Gamecocks (17-8, 1-5 SEC) showed resilience after dropping the first two games by a combined 19 runs, but ultimately couldn't hold off the potent Arkansas (23-2, 5-1 SEC) offense when it mattered most.
South Carolina got off to a promising start when Nathan Hall blasted the second pitch of the game over the right field wall for a 1-0 lead. Beau Hollins followed suit an inning later, crushing his own solo shot to left field to make it 2-0.
The Razorbacks answered in the bottom of the second when Ryder Helfrick hit his first homer of the day to cut the lead to 2-1, then tied the game in the third on Charles Davalan's solo shot to left-center field.
Making a spot start after Dylan Eskew was scratched due to a freak accident during batting practice, Jarvis Evans Jr. gave the Gamecocks three solid innings, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out three. Evans worked around several tough situations before giving way to the bullpen in the fourth.
Arkansas took its first lead in the fifth inning when Brent Iredale's sacrifice fly and Cam Kozeal's fielder's choice drove in two runs to make it 4-2.
South Carolina's offense, which had struggled throughout the series, found life in the seventh inning. After Hollins was hit by a pitch and Evan Stone doubled, Will Tippett delivered a clutch two-run double to right-center field that tied the game at 4-4.
The deadlock didn't last long. In the bottom of the eighth, Justin Thomas Jr. broke the tie with a two-run homer off Brendan Sweeney (0-2), who failed to record an out while allowing two runs on two hits. The Razorbacks weren't done though, as Iredale's grand slam off Ryder Garino effectively sealed the outcome, pushing the lead to 10-4. Helfrick added his second homer of the day one batter later to complete the scoring.
Despite the lopsided final score, the Gamecocks showed fight throughout the contest. South Carolina's defense came up with a key play in the fourth inning when Stone threw out Kozeal at home plate trying to score from second base.
Hall finished 3-for-4 with a home run to lead South Carolina's offense, while Hollins went 2-for-3 with a homer. Tippett contributed his crucial two-run double, but the Gamecocks managed just eight hits overall and went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
For Arkansas, Helfrick led the way, going 2-for-5 with two home runs and two RBIs. Iredale drove in five runs despite collecting just one hit, while Thomas Jr. finished 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs.
Parker Coil (2-0) earned the win for Arkansas after escaping a bases-loaded jam in the eighth inning to preserve the tie before his offense exploded in the bottom half.
The loss drops South Carolina to 1-5 in SEC play, with an important midweek matchup against North Carolina looming on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Charlotte before returning to conference action next weekend.
